Leeds United's Tyler Denton is ready to take step up after debut joy

LUTON Town's Kenilworth Road home may not have proved a particularly auspicious venue for Leeds United over the years, but it will forever hold a place in the heart of young Tyler Denton.
Tyler Denton and Stuart Dallas at full-time. (Picture: Bruce Rollinson)Tyler Denton and Stuart Dallas at full-time. (Picture: Bruce Rollinson)
Tyler Denton and Stuart Dallas at full-time. (Picture: Bruce Rollinson)

The Dewsbury lad stepped out for his first foray in senior football there for boyhood club Leeds on Tuesday night – and will still be pinching himself today following the events which unfolded.

A night of surprises started when inspection of the Whites’ team-sheet revealed 11 changes from the side who impressively beat Sheffield Wednesday at the weekend.

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They continued with the sight of Denton scoring the type of instinctive goal with the outside of his left foot that a forward with a couple of hundred senior games under his belt would have struggled to manufacture.

Garry Monk applauds the fans at full-time.Garry Monk applauds the fans at full-time.
Garry Monk applauds the fans at full-time.

The sweetest of strikes from the left-back, who turns 21 on September 6, sealed United’s passage to the third round of the League Cup at Luton to complete a whirlwind 24 hours or so.

His beaming smile after the final whistle said everything, with a choice entry afforded into what Denton hopes will become a scrapbook stacked with joyous memories over the coming years.

The academy product, who joined Leeds at the age of seven, said: “Literally, words cannot describe the feeling.

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“To go through the Leeds United ranks and be a fan since I was young and with my dad taking me to the games and to training week in, week out, I cannot thank my family enough. It is a dream start.

Garry Monk applauds the fans at full-time.Garry Monk applauds the fans at full-time.
Garry Monk applauds the fans at full-time.

“I think it is my first goal since the Under-10s. I had a tweet from one of the lads saying that I don’t even do that in training. It just happened. I will have to keep replaying it!”

“My eyes just lit up, really. I saw Roofey (Kemar Roofe) lay it off and I thought: ‘why not?’

“I was going to swing my right peg, but I thought the shot might go into the stands.”

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The sheer delight on the faces of Denton’s team-mates – on the pitch and on the bench – not to mention the 1,510 Whites away contingent who always reserve a special place in their affections for the sight of ‘one of their own’ prospering, was self-evident.

It put gloss on an occasion to remember for the defender, whose mad scramble for tickets to enable friends and family to watch his big night was thankfully aided by his team-mates.

On when he was told about his debut by head coach Garry Monk, Denton, a former pupil at Mirfield Grammar School, added: “We ran through shape on Monday afternoon and it was just one of those. He spoke to me on the bus and just said: ‘prepare yourself well and get the right amount of sleep’.

“I rang my family straightaway and the lads were kind enough to lend me some of their tickets as well to get more of my family in.

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“They brought me to training week in, week out down the years, so it was vital for them to get down.

“It could not have got any better. All the lads were saying: ‘play it simple’ in the first 10 and ease my way into that.

“To score that goal is a dream come true and, after that, I relaxed and got more and more into the game.”

After sampling the exhilaration of donning the white shirt for the first time in a competitive fixture, Denton is ravenous for more, but pragmatic enough to accept that he faces a fight to take the left-back spot off regular incumbent Charlie Taylor.

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Denton is the first to acknowledge that Taylor – whom he has credited as being a big help in his development – is firmly in the box seat.

If circumstances change, however, with Taylor linked to several top-flight clubs and his long-term future uncertain, a pathway could clear.

On his progress and a door opening if Taylor departs, Denton said: “Maybe yes, but obviously I have got to keep going and working hard and putting myself in the gaffer’s mind. I have got to cement my place hopefully and try and play some league games now.

“I thought I had been doing well in pre-season. Maybe I knew I was not going to start the season, but I had kind of prepared myself for it.

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“But I do not think there is time to be disappointed, there is always the next game.

“The gaffer has been great and talks to me and I think what is good is that he does not see me as a young player – he sees me just as a player which is good.

“I could not be more grateful. He has always supported me and had me in with the first-team boys from day one.

“Maybe it is a bit later than what I hoped for. But I always look at Charlie, who is different class. Everyone knows how good he is and I have learned a lot from him.

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“I am grateful for him and even though he is only a couple of years older than me, he will tell me what to do in training if am doing something wrong.

“I do want his place in the team but I will bide my time. It is a team game and we all have the same aim – to be in and around it at the end of the season.”